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BentoBox, which helps restaurateurs create mobile-friendly websites, raised $ 16.4 million in Series B funding.
This might not seem like the biggest opportunity, especially as consumers connect to restaurants in many other places online – read reviews on Yelp, make reservations on OpenTable, order deliveries on GrubHub etc. Its founder and CEO, Krystle Mobayeni, explained that this is exactly why BentoBox is important.
"Unfortunately, the technology that has become more important over the years in restaurants has [also] the commercial models of restaurants threatened, "says Mobayeni. "Restaurants have lost this direct relationship with their guests, which is the most important thing in hospitality."
BentoBox started with the restaurant websites because it was "the only place online where they had control," she said. Since then, he has also added features allowing these restaurants to transfer content and information from their websites to other platforms such as Google and Facebook.
Mobayeni also said that it was essential that BentoBox be a revenue generator for restaurants, rather than a simple additional cost. It therefore charges a simple subscription fee (instead of taking transaction fees that nibble the already thin margins of a restaurant), and adds potential customers to the website's platform, such as card sales. gifts, booking private events and taking orders.
BentoBox – Our mission of BentoBox on Vimeo.
In fact, Mobayeni said that restaurants are already studying the restaurant function and "want to use it as an on-demand online order".
"This is a very easy jump for us because we have already built a lot of this technology," she said.
BentoBox claims to work with more than 4,000 restaurants in 50 states and 16 countries, including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park and Jose Andrés, Think Food Group.
The company has now raised a total of $ 23.6 million, according to Crunchbase. The new series was led by Threshold Ventures (formerly DFJ Venture), with the participation of Bullpen Capital, Haystack and Female Founders Fund, as well as restorer Will Guidara of Make it Nice and Eleven Madison Park.
"Krystle and her team have achieved impressive growth, driven by their keen sense of the evolution of the foodservice industry and by a deep understanding of how these customers are using technology in their day-to-day operations," said Chirag. Chotalia, of Threshold, in a statement. .
Mobayeni added that this new funding would allow BentoBox to start working with large restaurant chains and create more features, such as a point-of-sale and reservation system for restaurants.
"In fact, our long-term vision is to generate all the interactions between the restaurant and its customers," she said. "We want to continue helping restaurants generate revenue through their most popular sources of revenue – order online and book – and do it the same way as the restaurant."
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